THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST) signed a formal deal with the World Health Organisation for the production of medical devices at New Delhi on Friday. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is part of the WHO’s Covid Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), now known as the Health Technology Access Pool (H-TAP).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, SCTIMST developed an RNA isolation kit and an RT-PCR kit. Both of these kits were transferred to industry and successfully commercialised.
As part of the C-TAP programme, the WHO, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and SCTIMST, is enabling access to technologies to all countries in the world.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister, Department of Science and Technology, who was the chief guest of the function, said H-TAP is an excellent initiative as it gives access to successful health technologies to various countries.
“The Ministry of Science and Technology is proud to be a part of the MoU as it allows SCTIMST and the Department of Science and Technology to enter into a partnership with global entrepreneurs, licensing the technologies and creating revenue generation through royalty,” he said.
He recalled the pioneering efforts made by Padma Vibhushan late Prof Valiathan, the founding Director, whose vision has been responsible for the outstanding work the institute is carrying out in the field of biomedical technology development.